title: Lymph node ratio and breast cancer prognosis: a meta-analysis.
abstract: Due to the heterogeneity of lymph node examination and the conflicting results existing for the same classification of lymph node ratio (LNR), it is necessary to conduct a meta-analysis to evaluate the prognostic effects of different LNRs on breast cancer. PubMed, EMBASE, and ISI Web of Knowledge were searched to find all published cohort studies that evaluated the prognostic value of different LNRs on breast cancer. The outcomes were overall survival (OS), disease-free survival (DFS), breast cause-special survival (BCCS), mortality, locoregional recurrence (LRR), and distant metastasis. Data was analyzed using comprehensive meta-analysis software version 2.0, and 23 studies were included. The available evidence showed that LNR was a prognostic predictor for breast cancer, especially for clinically node-positive breast cancer, but the available evidence could not judge which cutoff point is the most reliable. Meanwhile, the cutoff values 0.2 and 0.65 could be suitable to predict breast cancer OS, DFS, BCCS, and mortality.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oncology, The First Affiliated Hospital of the Henan University of Science and Technology, Jinghua Road No. 24, Jianxi District, Luoyang City, 471003, Henan, People's Republic of China, liudechun2008@yeah.net.
authors.forename: Dechun
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Yanbin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Miao
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.forename: Gangqiang
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: Jianguang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Like
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Qipeng
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Pengfei
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.forename: Xiaoshan
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Feng
mesh_terms: D001943:Breast Neoplasms / Q000401:mortality* / Q000473:pathology*; D018572:Disease-Free Survival; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008198:Lymph Nodes / Q000473:pathology*; D008207:Lymphatic Metastasis / Q000473:pathology; D009364:Neoplasm Recurrence, Local / Q000473:pathology; D011379:Prognosis